


Yet Another Halloween Party

by oddplum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fanatical Fics's Halloween Competition 2020, Fluff, Halloween, Haunted house (kinda), M/M, Podcast: Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them, get-together, stupid costumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddplum/pseuds/oddplum
Summary: Draco and Harry arrive at a Halloween party at their friends' but the house seems empty. What is going on? Is it something sinister or just their friends being meddlesome?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40
Collections: Fanatical Fics Halloween Writing Competition 2020





	Yet Another Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Halloween competition 2020 for the podcast: Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them  
> Included Character (does not have to be the main character): Any existing canonical ghost OR any character as a ghost  
> Item: A pumpkin  
> Plot point: Takes place at Halloween  
> Max Words: 2,000  
> Min Words: 500

Harry took in a breath of fresh air as he stood in front of his friends’ house. He’d been waiting for this party for a while. It was a good chance to unwind a bit.

“Potter?” came a sudden voice which startled Harry. He spun around and nearly fell down the two steps leading up to the house. Malfoy had appeared silently in the garden and looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Good to know I could sweep you off your feet.”

Harry opened his mouth but the only thing that came out was a pitiful “Shut up.”

Malfoy smiled. “You know, normal people say ‘Hello’ or ‘Good evening’.”

Harry glared at him. “Good evening, Malfoy.”

“Good evening, Potter.” Malfoy started walking up the stairs. “What are you doing out…” _CAW_! Draco screeched, jumped backward, and nearly fell down the steps himself. “What on earth is that?” he pointed at the bird who had appeared on Harry’s left shoulder.

Harry laughed. “This is Gavin. He’s a crow.” Malfoy eyed him suspiciously. “He’s part of my costume. He’s supposed to scare anyone who comes close. Pretty good, right?” Malfoy snorted and regained his composure. “Lovely. If you don’t mind, I’m going to change sides…” _CAW_! Another bird popped up on Harry’s right shoulder. Draco stumbled backward until he hit the wall. “And this is Derek,” Harry said, giggling.

Malfoy stared at him. “Are these real crows?”

“Of course not, I wouldn’t do that to real birds. They’re statues which I charmed to act like real birds. They pop up when someone gets near and then hide again.” Harry scratched Derek under his beak and smiled sweetly. “But they are pretty convincing. I’m quite proud of it, actually.”

Malfoy kept staring at him. “They’re not real but you named them. You named them Derek and Gavin.”

Harry shrugged. “It seemed rude not to since we’ll be hanging out all evening.”

“I will never understand you.” Malfoy sighed but his mouth twitched in amusement. Harry couldn’t help but smile as well. Then he noticed something. “Wait, where’s your costume? After all, it’s Halloween,” Harry asked.

“Can’t you see, Potter? Perhaps you need stronger glasses?”

Harry frowned. “The only thing I see are some plastic… Wait, cat ears?” Harry stepped closer, Gavin and Derek cawed alarmingly and Malfoy stepped away. “They are! You have cat ears and you think that’s enough! You didn’t even use magic! That’s lazy.”

Malfoy snorted. “Some of us don’t need magic to stand out. Some of us are naturally striking.”

Harry winked at him. “Can’t argue with that.” Malfoy opened his mouth but no words came out. Harry was delighted at the sight. He did look handsome standing there with a slight blush and a small smile. Even the cat ears suited him. He would have loved to stand on the porch and look at Draco all evening but his friends were throwing a party inside and it would have been odd. “Shall we go?” he gestured towards the front door.

Malfoy closed his mouth, turned, and opened the door. Harry could really appreciate how well the blonde’s robes fit and how they brought out his… No, get it together, you need to stop ogling your friend. Friend? Now there’s a thought. Who would have guessed this five years ago? Harry chuckled, earning a suspicious glance from the other man. They stepped inside the house and immediately the door closed with a bang behind them and all the light was sucked out of the room.

“Why is it so dark in here?” whispered Harry.

“I don’t know. Why are you whispering?” Malfoy murmured.

“It’s so quiet in here. Where is everybody? The party did start at 7, right?” Harry squinted but couldn’t make out a thing.

“It’s probably a haunted house they rigged up which everyone has to go through. To get in the spirit of the season. Wait, I’ll just…” A smash came from Harry’s left. Then a lot of things happened at once. He felt Malfoy stumble into him, Gavin let out a loud cry, Malfoy yelped and jumped somewhere and crashed into something else. Harry grabbed his wand and lit it. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Malfoy had stumbled into a coat rack and was currently sitting on the floor among various jackets and cloaks, sucking his finger.

“Stop laughing, your bloody bird bit me!” he scowled. “You said that they were going to hide at some point. When?”

Harry looked at the birds. “I’m not sure actually. I didn’t test the spell before today.”

Malfoy looked up at him. “You didn’t test… Why am I surprised?” He sighed, got up, and muttered a healing spell for the cut Gavin had left. “Let’s get this over with. I just want a normal party.” Malfoy lit his wand. Harry stared at the way the light caught on his blonde hair before coughing and nodding.

They entered the corridor leading up to the living room. Shadows danced on the walls as the pair walked along it. The house was quiet, except for the sounds of their steps.

Harry was startled by Malfoy speaking. “See how the corridor seems endless? It’s a modified Extension charm. Something horrifying is supposed to happen, otherwise we would have reached the living room already.”

Suddenly, a wail could be heard and a silvery figure dashed towards them, screaming and swinging chains. Malfoy jumped out of the way and Harry caught him by the arm. Their eyes met and Harry could feel the heat radiating from him. Maybe this was it? Harry was always trying to find the right time to show his feelings. But before he could act, he felt Derek moving on his right shoulder as the bird hit Malfoy in the face with a wing. Malfoy sighed and stepped back. “Those birds are starting to annoy me. Right, we’ve done the ghost. What next? An ax murderer? A horde of zombies?”

He reached the living room door and pushed it open. There were candles everywhere, some fake spider webs (or real ones) in the corner, a swarm of bats flew in the ceiling and there was a carved pumpkin sitting next to the window. Otherwise the room looked exactly the same as Harry remembered. He flopped down onto the sofa, crows squawking at the sudden movement. “Now what?”

Draco went to look out of the window. “Now we wait. Do you see anything unusual?” Harry looked around. He frowned. “I’m not sure but I think that pumpkin was smaller when we came in?” Draco snorted. “I meant anything useful?” Harry sighed. The pumpkin was definitely bigger now. In fact, its teeth seemed to grow sharper, if that was possible. “No, Draco, that pumpkin is clearly enchanted. It’s almost up to your waist!”

Draco spun around. The pumpkin had trapped him against the window. Harry stood up and immediately caught his foot on the carpet which grabbed his legs and pulled him down and promptly wrapped him up so he couldn’t move. Meanwhile, the pumpkin had already grown larger than Draco and Harry could only watch in horror as the mouth opened wide to swallow the blonde…

“Okay, that’s enough!” a voice bellowed from somewhere. The carpet loosened its hold on Harry and the pumpkin froze mid-devouring Draco. “This is not helping.” Harry looked up at the man who had appeared next to him. “Hello, Neville. Great party.” The crows cawed in agreement. “Do you mind?” Neville crouched down and starting untangling him.

“It would have worked if _someone_ hadn’t charmed the carpet.” Harry turned his head and saw Pansy glaring at Neville from the doorway. Neville shrugged. “It was plan B. I didn’t know where they were going to position themselves.”

“I thought I did a really good job in the corridor. I was so sure it was going to happen there.” Sir Nicholas floated through the wall, talking to Hermione who sat down on the sofa. “But we didn’t count on Harry bringing a stupid costume with its own bodyguards!” she muttered. Harry was now thoroughly confused. He decided to tackle one question at a time. “Nick, what are you doing here?”

“Helping, of course!” answered the ghost. “Neville asked me to come and give you a scare so that one of you would fall into the other’s arms and you would realise that you’re in love! Very romantic. I always encourage young love.”

Harry stared at him. “Right. And the pumpkin and the carpet were meant to have the same outcome?” Pansy rolled her eyes. “Yes, although I thought we _agreed_ that only the pumpkin would be charmed.” She managed to free Draco from the pumpkin’s clutches who looked as bewildered as Harry felt. Draco straightened his robes, coughed nervously, and said: “Let me get this straight. You designed a haunted house so that one of us would be scared or in mortal danger.”

“Yes!” Pansy answered in an exasperated voice. “One of you would save the other and then you would’ve realised that you like each other and finally kiss! Honestly, it’s so tiring seeing you circle each other but being too afraid to make the first move! We had to do something.”

Silence fell. Everyone looked at Draco and Harry. “I need fresh air,” the blonde finally said and exited the room. “Um, I like air too,” Harry stammered and followed him.

He found him leaning against the wall on the porch. “You alright?” Draco sighed. “Yeah, it’s just not very comfortable to be put on the spot like that. I don’t like my private matters discussed in public.”

Harry nodded and they listened to the sounds of the night for a while.

“So,” Harry said finally with a nervous chuckle. “What about it?”

“What about what?” Draco answered, not looking at him.

Harry sighed. He liked this prickly man, but he could be infuriating at times. “I won’t deny what they said,” he continued, gathering his courage. “It’s true, I like you and I want to ask you on a date.”

Draco’s eyes shot up and he stared at Harry. A moment passed. Then two. Harry held his breath until he couldn’t anymore. “Please answer me,” he finally said nervously.

The corner of Draco’s mouth turned upwards. “You didn’t ask me anything.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Oh for… Will you go on a date with me?” Draco kept staring at him, this time smirking. “You can reply now, that was definitely a question.”

“Well, I wanted to answer it with a kiss, but I don’t think the crows would like it.” Draco laughed, his eyes sparkling. Harry looked at Gavin and Derek who looked back menacingly. Were they flexing their wings? Harry shook his head. They’re not real! “I should have worn cat ears too,” he sighed.

“Yes, you should have.” Draco smiled at Harry. “Shall we go back to the party?” He held out his hand and Harry grasped it. Derek cawed, but Gavin remained still, eyeing Draco suspiciously.

“Seems like handholding is fine?” Harry laughed. Draco laughed along, then frowned. “You better not bring them along on our date.”

“Believe me, I won’t. I’m going to kiss you the minute the spell wears off. Be ready.” Harry winked and Draco smiled. They went back to the party, hand in hand.


End file.
